Neji readied himself for the second night of watching the hideout. The sun had now dipped fully below the horizon and, once again, there was minimal activity inside. The disturbing display he had witnessed earlier being the only notable exception, the movements of the four occupants were exceedingly mundane. Sasuke talked briefly to his comrades, but mostly stayed alone in the front chamber. The other two men usually stayed together, and the Kunoichi could be found visiting each member of the group at interval and taking her trips outside for drinking water. Neji found himself growing as impatient as the aura he sensed from Kiba. Surely, something had to happen; the group would have to be on the move sooner or later.

Kiba had begun to fidget restlessly, and it started to wear on Neji's nerves. Though he understood and sympathized with the other Shinobi, it was getting to be a distraction. He was about to admonish his comrade for moving about when Kiba signaled that he detected movement outside once again.

Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned quickly ahead the some 600 meters toward the front of the hideout. It was growing darker, and he boosted his chakra slightly to keep the images in front of him focused. The Kunoichi was again visiting the well, likely for the final time before turning in for the night.

She seemed to be fully recovered from the use of her jutsu, and proceeded to lower her canister into the depths of the well.

Suddenly, she looked up. Neji saw her bespectacled eyes looking exactly in his direction.

"Shimatta," Neji uncharacteristically cursed. Maybe he had released too much chakra. He didn't think he had, but there she stood. If they had been standing face to face, she would have been looking directly into his eyes.

"Neji. What is it."

"She's looking right at me!" he whispered urgently.

"No way. We should still be out of range, and she shouldn't be able to see us at this distance in the dark," Kiba said, his hushed voice nervous at hearing the light expletive uttered from the usually polite Neji.

"I know that!" Neji hissed somewhat coldly. "But she's holding my gaze for more than an instant. Even if she can't see or sense us, there is such a thing as intuition. And there are more of us now. Not to mention, the well is on the side of the building nearest to us."

"Is she still looking this way?" Kiba asked, whispering as quietly as he could.

"Yes. Wait. No. Now she's taking up the canister and turning to go back inside. She's not hurrying. She doesn't seem concerned"

"False alarm?"

"I don't know. But I need to let Yamato know that we may have been detected. We need to keep our talking to a minimum now."

"Hai." Kiba answered as Neji prepared his message for the captain.

When Yamato's instructions returned, Neji held the message between himself and Kiba so they both could silently read it. Straining to see in the now complete darkness of the forest, they read Yamato's directive.

"We are ready. Turn on your wireless radios to frequency 2, 3, 8. Stand by for radio check."

Neji and Kiba quickly reached into their gear bags and brought out the small electronic devices. They placed them over their ears and adjusted the mouthpiece, turning the dial to the prescribed frequency. Moments later, the sound of voices not heard in nearly two days came into their ears.

"Radio check. Respond if you can hear me," said Yamato.

A familiar "Ossu!" from Lee and a soft "R-ready" from Hinata were among the rest of the affirmative responses given. Neji listened and mentally checked off the roster of Leaf Shinobi as they all replied to the radio check.

"Good. That's everyone," came Yamato's voice once again. "Now, please listen. You may ask questions when I finish. If we have been detected, and someone emerges from the facility, I will move to within vocal and audible range. Through the radios, you all will listen in on any conversation that occurs, and wait for the signal. If the target begins to flee, I will call TenTen and Sai into action to try and keep them here. If they do not run, I will call Neji, Kiba, and Naruto here with me as the first wave, to try and conceal our numbers for as long as possible. The rest of you will back us up, and help keep Sakura from injury so she can use the sedative when the time comes. Based on the information we have garnered from Neji's observations since we arrived, separating Sasuke from the Kunoichi is a MUST. Understood?"

"Hai!" came the collective response.

"Now I request that you only speak when spoken to by me," Yamato continued. "Neji."

"Hai."

"What is the status of the enemy?"

"They are all in their usual positions, but the Kunoichi is talking to Sasuke. Wait. The other two are moving in the building. They're also going toward Sasuke."

"I see. It looks like they know something is up. Keep describing what you see and everyone else listen."

"Understood. All four are now in Sasuke's chamber. They are talking about something. The slender man has his sword with him. Sasuke is turning, he's picking up his sword. Taichou! He's moving to the entrance!"

"Got it. I'm going in. Are they all leaving the building?"

"Negative. He's going alone. The others are standing just inside the entrance."

"Understood. Keep observing, and listen in. When I say 'flight', Sai and TenTen will launch a distance attack. When I say 'now', Neji, Kiba, and Naruto will join me at my position and the others will close in at once."

Neji felt the rush of anticipation come over him, and sensed a similar aura about Kiba. He and Akamaru assumed a readied position and Neji could see them straining their eyes forward. Neji kept his eyes trained on the entrance of the building. In a moment he saw what looked to be a small flare emerge.

It was Sasuke.

Neji observed him hold the flare out at arm's length, looking toward the tree line. Yamato should be nearing the front of it by now. Neji barely breathed. Sasuke paced the front of the building for a moment, passing his hand over the front wall of it at regular intervals. 'What is he doing?' Neji thought. Then, Sasuke threw down the flare so that it stuck in the earth in front of him. As the flare cast its pale glow, Neji took in the sight of him. For most of the time he had been watching, Sasuke was in a seated position, or a position to where his body was obscured slightly. Now Neji could see him fully as he stood, his chest visible through the loosely tied robe he wore. He did slightly resemble a Samurai, and Neji wondered if he had a short sword to go along with his long sword, as it was the custom of the Samurai to carry one of each. He had a hand on the hilt of the long sword, though it was still sheathed. His facial features had not really changed much, but even at his current distance, Neji could see in his eyes that he was not the same boy of his youth.

He seemed to be straining to see if he could hear or see anything.

"Who's there?"

The Uchiha had spoken, his voice audible through the earpiece of the wireless radio. Kiba cast Neji a sideways glance and Neji nodded, confirming that the voice they both heard through Yamato's transmitter was indeed that of Sasuke. His query was met only by the sounds of the nighttime forest. Neji thought Yamato must be trying to gauge his responses carefully, if he would respond at all.

"I asked who's there?!" Sasuke again questioned, his voice forceful and showing no sign of any apprehension.

Getting no response, Sasuke backed up a few paces toward the entrance of the facility, all the while keeping his eyes to the tree line. He reached inside the doorframe and seemed to throw a mechanical switch of some kind. Neji thought he could faintly hear the sound of a power generator through his earpiece. Seconds later, bright flood lights emerged from the areas on the building where Sasuke had placed his hands, and four large spotlights began to rise from the ground, casting the lightness of day on the area immediately in front of the building and into the forest where they were all hidden. Neji was not entirely surprised at the display since this had, indeed, been one of Orochimaru's former lairs. The lairs were always known to have traps and detection devices concealed within. Neji had to admit that this was a clever device obviously meant to negate the advantage of a nighttime ambush.

Yamato must have realized that stealth was no longer an option. He finally called out to the Uchiha from somewhere in the brush.

"I am a Shinobi of Konoha." Neji picked up on the choice of words instantly. Yamato was referring to himself in the singular. It was an attempt to deceive that Neji was sure would ultimately be in vain. He didn't expect Sasuke to believe for a moment that Konoha would simply send one single Shinobi.

Neji thought he saw Sasuke flinch ever so slightly, but he quickly recovered his stoic expression.

"State your purpose!" he demanded, his voice louder, but almost devoid of emotion.

"My mission is to locate and retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. Missing Nin of Konoha. Suspected member of the organization Akatsuki. And person wanted for criminal questioning at the Village Hidden in the Cloud."

Neji watched as Sasuke digested the words of the captain. He remained silent, his hand never leaving the still sheathed sword he carried.

"Show yourself!" Sasuke called, his tone hostile.

"Surrender yourself quietly, and no harm will come to you or your companions."

Neji could hear Sasuke chuckle softly. "Cut the act! I have no intention of going to Konoha at the moment. Leave."

A few seconds later, Sasuke added, "All of you!"

Having realized that Sasuke knew there were more Shinobi in the darkness, Yamato replied.

"Very well. If you will not surrender, we are authorized to take you back to Konoha by force!"

Neji saw the young Uchiha activate his Sharingan as he stood, regarding the words of their captain. He was serious. While Neji's team had trained with their Sensei Maito Gai, the older Jounin taught them all several techniques to use against the Sharingan. Most of them concentrated on Taijutsu focusing on the enemy's feet and body as they avoided looking the Sharingan user in the eyes. Lee had been exceptionally adept at these methods, as he was the Taijutsu specialist of their generation. TenTen could avoid making direct eye contact if she concentrated on longer range attacks, and Neji, with his Byakugan, could focus solely on the enemy's chakra points. He felt he had prepared enough.

Neji also made a mental note to watch for any illusions Sasuke might cast. If he was now at the level that his brother Itachi had been when he was alive, Sasuke's illusions could be far more dangerous than a physical attack. Gai had warned that Itachi was capable of casting illusions in ways other than by making eye contact, such as raising a finger, or tugging at his clothing. Neji had to assume that Sasuke would be similarly capable by now. He would endeavor to watch over Lee as best he could. Among the lot of them, Lee and Naruto were the worst at releasing Genjutsu. Naruto could do it to an extent on his own by redirecting his massive chakra, but only with the help of the Toad Sage could he completely dissolve a genjutsu of a very high level. Lee, because he was incapable of drawing chakra, couldn't release them at all. If Naruto was not accompanied by the Toad Sage, both he and Lee would need one of the others to inject chakra into their body if they got caught.

Neji could feel his heart beating faster in his chest at the nearly unbearable pause in the exchange between the Uchiha and Yamato. He had to think they would be called forth any second. He put himself in a stance that would enable him to instantly spring forth to the captain. As Neji looked on, the other three enemies exited the facility and stood behind Sasuke. The slender man had his hand on his massive sword, and the larger man and Kunoichi didn't have any visible weapons, but that meant nothing. Neji was still well aware of the fact that he observed nothing that revealed any insight to the techniques of the men, or of any battle techniques the Kunoichi possessed.

"I remember your voice," Sasuke began, "The last time we met, Orochimaru interrupted me from ending things. This time, you won't be so lucky. Show yourselves NOW!"

Through the earpiece, Neji heard Yamato's voice. "Since they are all outside, I'd like to change our plan slightly. TenTen. Can you launch some projectiles toward the lighted area? I want to see how they defend. And Neji, any analysis of their movements would be appreciated."

"Hai," said the two members of Gai-sensei's team.

"Oh. And TenTen. Make it a lot of them," Yamato added.

"Leave it to me," came the hushed voice of the weapons mistress over the radio.

Not even a few seconds had passed when Neji heard the whizzing sound of dozens of Kunai and Shuriken pass overhead, heading in the direction of the enemy. They scattered all over the clearing. Sasuke dodged them expertly with a speed that Neji could barely see even with his Byakugan. The Kunoichi successfully batted away the offending knives with one of her own, and the man with the sword used it to shield himself from the onslaught. The bigger man didn't dodge as well, but managed to escape with only a few scratches as he assisted the Kunoichi.

However, Neji could see that the markings of the cursed seal, similar to that which Neji had faced on the first retrieval mission, began to travel across his body. His brute strength would be something to contend with, never mind any other techniques he may have. Neji was sure that his speed would be enhanced as well, and he would likely not have problems dodging anymore.

"Is that all they got, Sasuke?" asked the man with the sword sarcastically. "Maybe I should tell Karin and Juugo to just sit inside and wait for us. We don't need Juugo turning into some little gaki kid again right after he just got back to normal. Even this awful replacement sword will do just fine here."

"Shut up, Suigetsu!" Sasuke yelled at the man. The two seemed to be involved in a staring contest.

Neji now knew their names. Neji looked at the larger man, Juugo, not being able to immediately understand how a man that size could be turned into a child. Perhaps it might be a risk to one of his techniques. If he indeed was the originator of the cursed seal, then maybe some "ultimate technique" could have genetic regression as its consequence. By Suigetsu's own comments, Neji also inferred that the large sword he carried might not be his usual weapon.

"Yamato-Taichou," Neji said softly into his radio, hoping everyone else was also listening.

"Go ahead, Neji."

"I assume you got the names."

"Yes. What is it?"

"Just a guess, but by what the one called Suigetsu said, I think the sword he's carrying might not be his preferred sword. So he may not have full use of it. And that Juugo person has apparently been reduced to a child after overusing a technique some time in the past, but it would likely be a technique he would not want to use here. He's still dangerous. The Kunoichi seems to be a basic fighter, not much more as far as battle is concerned. We just need to guard against her healing jutsu."

"I agree."

Sasuke turned once again to the tree line, seemingly satisfied with his mental scolding of his loose lipped teammate. "I'm sure you don't intend to take me down with toys."

Neji could here TenTen make a "Tch" sound in his earpiece.

"If you're serious, let's have it. Show yourselves!" Sasuke ordered once again.

"Now."

That was the signal. In a flash, Neji and Kiba along with Akamaru molded their chakra and took off. As they landed, Yamato and Naruto swooped in almost simultaneously. They were now face to face with Uchiha Sasuke and his team.

The battle was about to begin.